Sodium Hydroxide

Synonyms: Caustic soda

CAS Number: 1310-73-2

SERIOUS
health hazard

MODERATE
health hazard

FEW OR NO
health hazards

0 79
80 89
90 100
86

Sources of exposure:

Personal care
Cleaning products and household care
Food
Industrial uses

Arts & crafts

Description:

Sodium hydroxide is a strong inorganic alkali used as a pH adjuster in personal care and cleaning products and in soap manufacturing. It is also used as a food additive and in a wide range of industrial processes.

Health concerns:

Respiratory Toxicity & Asthmagens

May damage the lungs or trigger asthma.

Irritant

May cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation.

Banned/restricted lists:

  • European Commission Annex III restrictions.

HOW MILLION MARKER SCORES CHEMICALS

Million Marker's Ingredient Hazard Scoring uses multiple chemical databases and a science-backed scoring system to compute hazard scores for thousands of chemicals found in consumer products and listed on ingredient labels.

We identified key chemicals based on a database compiling dozens of authoritative sources, screening tools, and QSAR models.

Hazard scores within 11 different health categories (carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, reproductive toxicants, developmental toxicants, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, organ system toxicity, immunotoxicity, respiratory toxicity, skin/eye/respiratory irritants, and ecotoxicity).

They are weighted based on several factors, including strength of evidence for adverse impacts in humans, severity, and potential contamination.